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T-0: Embarkation Day is Here!

Well, we’ve done it! We have officially embarked on our North Dakota Summer Adventure, and we’re calling it “Lost on the Prairie.” We are Sarah, Tony, and Giovanni Nasello, and we welcome you to our family blog! This blog is going to be written from Sarah’s point-of-view, and we hope you enjoy following along as we travel through North Dakota.

Growing up, all my extended family either lived in Fargo, or outside North Dakota, and as a result, I have very little familiarity with my home state. This reality really hit me when Tony and I were hosting our weekly radio show from Fargo, “Live with The Lost Italian” (2008-2011, AM-1100) during which we would receive calls from all over North Dakota. When I’d ask callers where they were calling from, they’d say the name of the town and then I’d say, “Ok – what’s that near?” Sadly, I rarely recognized even the second town they’d name, but I loved knowing we were connecting with people throughout the state of North Dakota.

We were so affected by the support from our listeners, and humbled once our show ended by the emails we received from parts of North Dakota I’d never heard of. I decided I did not want our son growing up knowing as little of the state as I did, and have been thinking of this idea for over a year.

As a 5th generation North Dakotan, I want Giovanni to be proud of where he comes from, and to feel a connection to his state and its culture beyond the Fargo-Moorhead area. So, we have decided to get “Lost on the Prairie” this summer, which means we will be traveling throughout North Dakota in an effort to discover as much as we can about this great state. More importantly, we are excited to connect with people who are passionate about food, farming, art and North Dakota in general.

The name “Lost on the Prairie” has many meanings – of course, the reference to The Lost Italian (Tony’s nickname), but also, how unfamiliar we are with life on the prairie, and how we hope to change that. One thing I do know about North Dakotans is that we love it when someone is interested in our state and ourselves; we are a rare breed, and I appreciate that.

While we definitely know we want to visit the Peace Gardens, Medora and the Badlands, we are hoping that much of the adventures we pursue will come on a more “organic” level – through our fellow North Dakotans. Whenever we tell people about this adventure, it’s amazing how they immediately want to connect us to “someone they know” somewhere in North Dakota.

We invite you to get Lost on the Prairie with us this summer, and eagerly await your comments and suggestions.

2 thoughts on “T-0: Embarkation Day is Here!”

Hello Sarah, Tony & Gio,
We look forward to watching your journey through North Dakota! If you need additional ideas or happen to be looking for more events/things-to-do in communities along the way, stop by http://www.ndtourism.com.
Enjoy your “Legendary” adventure.
Kim Schmidt
North Dakota Tourism

Thank you so much for your support this weekend! We had a great time in Valley City and the Sheyenne River Valley, and can’t wait for our next adventure. We used the website a good deal this winter, and the people at North Dakota Tourism have been so helpful. We really appreciate all the great information, tweets, re-tweets, posts, etc. Thank you!